Behind the Numbers: Qualified Ride Leaders for Each PBR Team Series Squad

By: Darci Miller

PUEBLO, Colo. – The first season of the PBR Team Series was a wild one, with six different teams winning at least one event, two riders duking it out for the MVP award all season long, seven playoff seeds being determined on the final day of the regular season and the top five teams being separated by just 1.5 games when everything was said and done.

With so much parity in the league, each team had its moments in the sun and a star that led them there. While no one rider could carry a team by himself, no team could’ve succeeded without their most prolific rider lighting up the scoreboard, either.

Read on to learn more about each team’s qualified ride leader and tune in for the PBR Team Series Championship on Nov. 4-6 in Las Vegas.

Arizona Ridge Riders – Luciano de Castro

 
Going 15-for-31 (48.4%) on the season, Luciano de Castro finished fourth in the MVP race while pacing the Ridge Riders. While perhaps an unexpected leader for Arizona, Castro is coming off the best premier series season of his career in which he finished No. 4 in the world standings. Of his 15 rides, his best was a 90.5-point outing on Top Shelf at Freedom Fest in Oklahoma City.

Austin Gamblers – Jose Vitor Leme

What is there left to say about Jose Vitor Leme? He finished No. 5 in the world in 2022, low for his standards, but was untouchable in the PBR Team Series. The two-time World Champion won the inaugural MVP award with 1,683.25 points, leading the Gamblers to the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye at the PBR Team Series Championship. He went 19-for-25 on the season for a riding percentage of a whopping 76% — pretty standard stuff for the guy who, in 2021, had arguably the best statistical season in PBR history. He notched four 90-point rides during the regular season, the highest scoring 91.75 points aboard Montana Jacket at Rattler Days in Fort Worth.

Carolina Cowboys – Daylon Swearingen

 
Swearingen got on a roll at the end of the Unleash The Beast season, won the PBR World Finals event title, 2022 World Championship, and simply hasn’t let up since. Finishing second to Leme in the MVP race, Swearingen went 17-for-28 for a 60.7% riding percentage during the regular season. His 92.5-point ride on I’m Legit Too in the first Bonus Round of the season in Cheyenne, Wyoming, is still among the highest-scoring outings of the season.

Kansas City Outlaws – Marcus Mast

 
Marcus Mast is perhaps the true Cinderella story of the inaugural PBR Team Series season. He’s been a regular on the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour since 2016. While Mast has competed at 31 premier series events, he has struggled to stick there. He finished 2022 ranked No. 131 in the world. But he signed as a free agent with the Outlaws in May and has arguably been the face of the franchise ever since, leading the team in going 16-for-31 (51.6%).

Missouri Thunder – Adriano Salgado

 
Similarly, Adriano Salgado was a breakout star for the Missouri Thunder. He competed in the U.S. for the first time in 2019, qualifying for his first World Finals in 2021 and finishing that season ranked a career-best No. 32 in the world. He split his time between the Velocity Tour and the Unleash The Beast in 2022, but stepped up like a veteran when the Thunder needed him. Salgado went 13-for-25 (52%) in the regular season to pace the team.

Nashville Stampede – Kaique Pacheco

 
While Kaique Pacheco didn’t have quite the Team Series season he’d wanted, it was still good enough to lead the Nashville Stampede in qualified rides. Coming off one of the best seasons of his career in which he finished No. 2 in the 2022 World Championship race, Pacheco went 12-for-32 (37.5%) for the Stampede with one 90-point ride on Cold Shot at Rattler Days. The 2018 World Champion also made some history this year, becoming the 21st rider to notch his 300th ride on the premier series.

Oklahoma Freedom – Derek Kolbaba

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In 2017, Derek Kolbaba very nearly won the PBR World Championship, entering the World Finals ranked No. 1 in the world and ultimately finishing No. 2. He hasn’t quite reached that form since then, but it’s always been in him, and his first stint with the Oklahoma Freedom has pulled it back out. Kolbaba led the team, going 14-for-29 (48.3%) and most importantly, served as their closer. In the all-important role, Kolbaba provided the Freedom with an astounding four game-winning, walk-off rides this season. He also notched four 90-point rides – two of them being walk-offs in front of the Freedom’s home crowd in Oklahoma City.

Texas Rattlers – Cody Jesus

Cody Jesus has spent a few years struggling with injuries, but he hit his stride again in 2022. He very nearly won the 2022 PBR World Finals, finishing second to eventual World Champion Swearingen, and finished the season ranked a career-best No. 7 before being selected in the first round of the PBR Team Series Draft. Jesus went 10-for-25 (40%) for the Rattlers this season, helping the team clinch the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye for the PBR Team Series Championship.

 
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media

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